The Financial Conduct Authority is urging pension providers to do more to ensure people holding older pension products receive good value.
The regulator said it found that those holding legacy pension products, now closed to new savers, could be receiving poorer value than those in newer ones.
It highlighted that complex charging structures, older product design and weaknesses in firms’ data meant some pension savers are not getting as much value as they could.
However, the FCA also identified examples of good practice, with some providers simplifying or rationalising their legacy products and funds, capping or reducing charges for customers, comparing outcomes across different customer groups and products and moving customers to better-value alternatives.
The FCA is now calling on all pension providers to consider the findings and take on the good practice identified.
Charlotte Clark, director of cross-cutting policy and strategy at the FCA, said: “Consumers in older products should not be left behind, and the good news is that some firms are already showing it doesn’t have to be this way. We want to see that progress reflected right across the market.”
Main image: xinyi-w-qjCHPZbeXCQ-unsplash
